[gallery size="full" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" ids="51466,51467,51468,51469,51470,51471"]Layan Damanhouri JEDDAH – Honey and beehive products can cure up to 500 diseases and even prevent thousands. Moreover, training in Saudi Arabia is needed to produce professional beekeepers as well as physicians practicing alternative medicine using honey, according to Professor Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, supervisor of the Abdullah Bugshan Chair for Bee Research at King Saud University and chairman of Beekeepers Cooperative Association (BCA), who spoke to Saudi Gazette on the sidelines of the 13th Asian Apicultural Association Conference. The 3-day conference, which concluded on Tuesday, was organized in an Arab member country for the first time by the Bee Research Chair of King Saud University. "Our goal is to gather practicing physicians to present the scientific facts," Prof. Alghamdi said. "Saudi production is relatively weak compared to consumption. We import 14,000 tons annually. One of the problems we have is that despite the big number of beekeepers, approximately over 5,000, the trained professionals may not even reach 1%." He added the BCA aims to focus on training at an official institute specialized in training beekeepers. When asked about Saudis' receptiveness toward alternative medicine, particularly apitherapy, he said it was favorable. He said "people usually prefer natural products especially because they don't have side effects." Under the theme of "Natural Resource Conservation for Sustainable Development", leading doctors and apitherapists from 35 countries presented various subjects related to bees, products, technology, and obstacles of beekeeping in climate, care, among others. Activities and workshops were attended by Saudi beekeepers and physicians. Over 100 exhibitors both locally and internationally from countries including Turkey, China, Germany, the United States, participated at the conference. Dr. Stefan Stangaciu, president of several organizations and associations, including the Apitherapy Consulting & Trading International Ltd., the German Apitherapy Society, and the Romanian Apitherapy Society, displayed the latest scientific practices and products in apitherapy. Speaking to Saudi Gazette, he said beehive products are important to prevent hundreds and thousands of diseases. Secondly, it can treat between 800 and 1,000 diseases according to scientific literature. When asked about the importance of having trained and certified apitherapists, he said "beekeepers have a stronger and healthier life. So this can expand to the rest of the population. In countries like Romania or Germany, there are hundreds of doctors specialized in apitherapy. As a result, there's a huge impact on the health of the population." Studies have shown that beekeepers live three years longer for their longer telomeres. However, awareness is still limited. He said "nowadays there's not much awareness because the population doesn't know about apitherapy but it will come gradually. I believe the success will be very good because in Muslim countries because the Quran states that honey is very important for health. The acceptance will be very good but gathering the knowledge will take a bit of time. In Muslim countries, there are many good specialists in apitherapy." Dr. Noori Al-Waili, a consultant in internal medicine, nephrology, hypertension, and wound management, as well as a pioneer in bee products in medicinal applications in the United States, said honey is "very effective" for treating wounds and can decrease cardiovascular risk factor, exhilarate kidney functions, and increase insulin levels for diabetics. He has published insightful papers in alternative medicine, including more than 50 scientific publications on biological activity and medicinal uses of honey and propolis, and diet modification. Dr. Al-Waili, who gave workshops and lectures on the management of diseases based on the American experience, said, "The FDA approved the use of honey for treatment of wounds and burns. 70% of patients in the US are interested to use alternative medicine in general even though some have not been approved by the FDA." Fayez Al-Githami, expert in apitherapy and president of beekeepers society in Makkah, said it is important for Saudi beekeepers to learn from the international visitors based on their experiences and exchange knowledge. He stressed that "we need to learn from other countries, like the Chinese for example, because they are more advanced than Saudi Arabia in production technology, management of hives, medicine, tools, etc." There are 140 types of honey discovered in all regions of the Kingdom that is rich with various terrains and climates as well as plants and blossom locations. Honey sold in Saudi Arabia vary from SR 200 to up to SR 3,000. Research shows each type has its distinctive use in medical treatment in diseases like stomach ulcers, liver functions, kidney failures, and problems in respiratory systems. Side effects are very rare and limited to allergies that can be easily treated. Consumers either buy honey for treatment or nutritional purposes. When asked about fraud in the market, Algithami said it is present yet difficult to uncover unless through sterile analysis. He said "there should be laboratory tests to examine the humidity levels, acidity level, etc. Other kinds of primary techniques don't have any proof in confirming the quality of honey. Honey should be bought only from trustworthy places." A session led by the Ministry of Health presented a draft of regulations to certify the use of bee products for medical treatment. The draft was negotiated by various Saudi beekeepers and physicians to adopt regulations in training, licensing, clinical practice, supervision, among other issues. The draft aims to be implemented in the near future.
